Family Ties
by Lily Hanson
Summary: She would never do what her father had done. She could never imagine herself walking away from a little girl that was a piece of her heart. Maybe Chase and Koda had a point. She owed her father nothing. He had never been there for her when she needed him.
1. This Is For Me

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made._

"The nerve of him!" Chase cried out as he snatched a letter from Kendall's hand and tossed it to the floor. Up to this point, the night had been going well. Kendall managed to wrap up her day at the museum at the same time as his shift in the Cafe ended. Chase took her out to dinner just the two of them. He noticed more and more that the purple Ranger would open up to him more so than she would the others and it was nice for him to think that he was special. The aloof Ms. Morgan; the bitchy boss was actually a soft, caring, kind person and she felt comfortable enough around him to let her guard down and be vulnerable.

He noticed more and more that he did the same with her. Generally he was a bit forgetful, he was always late, and a little irresponsible. For Kendall, and around Kendall, he was always at his best. He listened when she spoke to him, making sure to remember little details about her. He was always on time, even for work now because he didn't want to burden her. He took pride in himself for her. She brought out the best in him.

After dinner they walked back to her apartment, stopping for ice-cream on the way. Once they were back, Kendall saw an envelope had been left just outside her door. It was addressed to her, but there was no return address, no stamp, and no indication on the envelope of who the letter was from.

Curiosity was strength as well as a weakness for the purple Ranger. It had done as much good for her as it had done wrong. Kendall couldn't resist finding out the contents of the envelope. She regretted opening it once she recognized her father's handwriting.

However, she couldn't discard the letter. The last time she had seen her father, he had been trying to steal money from her. Even worse, he had left her with a dangerous man who had every intention of killing her, in order to pay off his debt. She wondered what her father could possible need from her that would give him the courage to reach out to her after what he did.

So she read the letter. Then she gave it to Chase. His response was to throw it away.

"He's got some nerve..."

"I can't ignore it," Kendall told him, picking the letter up and looking it over again.

"He basically left you for dead," Chase reminded her. "I think you can do the same for him."

Kendall read the letter and felt her heart being tugged in two directions. On the one hand, Chase was right. Her father never cared for her well-being. He barely qualified as a father when he had been in her life. As soon as he left, it was like she never existed. He dismissed all her letters, ignored the calls from Child Services, kept her in foster care, took her money, tried to steal from her, then left her in the hands of a dangerous man.

She owed him nothing.

On the other hand, she was better than her father. Despite her first impression, she genuinely cared for other people. She risked her life on a daily basis to protect the planet from evil aliens. She worked night and day to ensure her fellow Rangers were well protected an armed in battle. As a boss, she was constantly making sure that the museum and cafe were safe and warm environments for her staff and customers.

When people needed her, she could be proud of the fact that she wouldn't let them down. Unlike her father, she wanted to be dependable. She didn't want to turn into the person who called an eye for an eye. Sure, her father was a bad man, but the best way she could get the better of him was to show her that she had turned into a good person in spite of his absence.

She didn't need him. Ironically, he needed her.

"I've got to do it."

Chase snatched the letter from her hand and looked to her pleadingly. "You're not thinking right. Maybe that was a little too much wine with dinner..."

"It was one glass," Kendall rolled her eyes. "My judgment is not impaired."

"You don't owe him anything."

"I owe it to myself," Kendall told Chase, who continued to look at her worriedly.

"I don't want to see you getting hurt," he said. "Kendall, every time you've seen your father, you get upset or he does something to hurt you. You don't deserve this."

"I never said I did," Kendall stated firmly, looking to Chase with that expression that indicated she had made her decision and wouldn't budge. Not without great force, at least.

"At least think about it?" he asked her. "Sleep on it? Consider the pros and cons? Who you'll really be helping? You don't just give a kidney and walk away. You'll be out for weeks," Chase saw with that point, Kendall's stubbornness was starting to fall. He was getting her to consider her decision at least. "Heckyl is still out there, and that means Snide is still a threat. We can't be short a Ranger for the summer."

Kendall looked to the letter in Chase's hand, "I guess we can call the Prince to..."

"He can't build weapons."

"I could continue to work..."

"Not right away," Chase told her. Kendall sighed loudly. She took the letter again and read it over. Chase watched, hoping he had found a way to make her reconsider. "You'll be giving him what he wants, you know."

"I don't care about him."

"Then why are you considering giving him a kidney?" Chase asked.

"It would be for me," Kendall looked up at him. "It would be to prove to myself that, other than DNA, I am nothing like my father."

"You're not."

"I can do what's right. I can put my feelings aside for the wellbeing of someone else. Even if I don't care about them."

"What about the rest of us? Kendall, there's no replacing you on the team. Even temporarily," Chase told her. "Please, at least..."

"I'll think about it," Kendall promised him and kissed him gently before taking the letter into her room and shutting the door. Chase sighed loudly. She hadn't reconsidered, but at least she was going to give her decision a good think before she came up with a final answer. She was the smartest person he knew. He felt that as long as she did think about this decision, she would come to the right answer.


	2. Good vs Bad

Koda looked to Kendall with an uneasy stare. He couldn't understand what she was trying to tell him, but he could read from her body language and tone of voice that the matter was serious and she had no idea what to do.

It wasn't like her to be so indecisive. Generally, when there was a big, important decision to be made, the whole team turned to Kendall first. She was quick on her feet and always had a plan for what to do. But since this decision involved her father, Kendall was clearly torn.

"I not get," he told her honestly. "Kidney is part of body, right?"

"Yes, Koda. We've been over this."

"Then Kendall can't give kidney to father," Koda insisted. "He have own kidney, right?"

"His don't work anymore," Kendall explained once more to the caveman. She had always been impressed with how quickly Koda had been able to adapt to the modern world. However, some parts of his new home still baffled him. Surgery in general left him stumped. In his time, whenever the skin was cut and someone was left with a wound, there was a great chance that it would kill them. The wound would be exposed to bacteria and viruses, increasing the likelihood of infection. Because there was no way to properly clean it, the only defense people had against infection was their own immune system. If their immune system couldn't fight off the infection, they would succumb to their illness.

Wounds were always worrying for Koda. Even now, people still made an effort to avoid injury. However, in surgery, people would allow themselves to be cut open, and left open for hours sometimes on purpose.

Koda's understanding of transplant surgery seemed to be even worse. Despite Kendall trying to explain it to him that not all parts of the body were essential to survival, Koda couldn't wrap his head around intentionally losing an organ. In his mind, he came fully equipped with everything and anything he needed. Nothing more, nothing less unless he wanted to feel ill. Kendall telling him she was considering giving up a kidney, a necessary organ, for her father left Koda worrying that she was going to make herself sick.

"Koda, remember we have two kidneys and we only need one," she told the blue Ranger. "Both of mine work. I can afford to lose one."

Koda still shook his head. He didn't get it. If you had two kidneys and you only needed one, the other would be backup – in case something happened. If Kendall gave up a kidney, she would have no backup. Why would she want to take her chances?

"Both kidneys Kendall's kidneys," he told her. "Kendall should get to use two of them. Not make sense why you give up for bad father."

Kendall sighed and turned to her computer, where she had been researching kidney donations. Koda was bringing up the same point that Chase had the night before. It didn't make sense to them why she wanted to give up a kidney for a father who was never around for her. But for her, this wasn't about her father. He would be the recipient of her kidney, but she wasn't doing this to save his life, or because she felt she owed him.

She was doing this for herself. To prove to herself that she was nothing like him. She would be willing to make the necessary sacrifices for her family, even if it was at a great cost to herself. Her father brought her into the world and it was his responsibility to look after her. He later realized he didn't like all the work that came with being a father, and chose to selfishly put himself first.

She was better than that. She was better than him.

"Like it or not, Koda, he is my father. If there's something I can do..."

Koda shook his head. "He bad father. Kendall father is Jon."

"Koda, biologically speaking, Tom is my father."

"Biology?" Koda asked and he had been around Kendall long enough to have an idea of what that word meant. He looked to her, a little hurt. "So, Kendall is not Koda family."

"We are family, Koda. It's just... different."

"Yes," Koda nodded his head. "Koda, Jon, Chase, Tyler, Shelby, Riley, Ivan and Cammy good family for Kendall," he told her. "Tom is bad family."

Kendall had never thought of it in that way before: the simple way. She had always known that her biological family had never been ideal for her. Her father abandoned her and her mother chose drinking over properly raising her. When she met the Fishers, they were the first parents to take care of her. They were her real family.

But Koda's way of putting it, the good family vs. the bad family really simplified it for Kendall. She looked to her computer again with a sigh. Koda walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Kendall thinking of helping bad family," he said. "Have two kidneys. If you give kidney to bad family, Kendall can't help real family."

She groaned a little as she rested her elbows on her desk, putting her head in her hands. Once again, Koda had been able to quickly pick up on the ways of his new time. While she doubted he truly understood what would happen to her father if she refused him a kidney, he had been able to get to the heart of the matter.

She was willing to sacrifice something big for someone who didn't deserve it. Her father had many chances to walk back into her life and he never took them. When he did finally return, it was to take something from her. He never cared for her. He never did anything for her.

She owed him nothing.

On the other hand, the Fishers had taken her in. They didn't need to open their home to any foster child, much less her, yet they invited her in and opened their hearts. They cared for her and loved her like she was their own.

She wanted to give them back everything they had given her.

Koda, Chase, and all the other Rangers were also her family. They treated her kindly, they looked after her and they kept her safe. She knew she never would have reached out to the Fishers again had it not been for them showing her how much they cared for her. She never would have believed anyone could be trusted with her heart had it not been for their persistent, and often times annoying insistence that they were her friends.

She wanted to be able to show them that same kindness and love in return.

Finally, Cammy. Kendall never thought anyone could open up her heart as much as Cammy had. Before she met the little girl, there were times Kendall doubted her own heart's existence. But as soon as Cammy walked in, Kendall felt vulnerable. She felt like someone had taken a little piece of her heart, tore it out from her chest, and molded it into a little girl. Kendall wanted to give her the world. She wanted Cammy to experience only the highs of life, especially since she had been through so many of the lows already.

She would never do what her father had done. She could never imagine herself walking away from a little girl that was a piece of her heart.

Maybe Chase and Koda had a point. She owed her father nothing and there was no good reason why she should give up a kidney for him. He had never been there for her when she needed him.

The Fisher had always been there. Even when Kendall ran away and ignored them for eight years, they had been in the background, waiting patiently, willing to take her back with open arms.

The Rangers had always been there. When her heart was stone, when she didn't want to let them in, they still tried. They made sure she knew they were always going to be there for her.

And Cammy; she would always be there for Cammy.

She looked over the information about kidney donations: the recovery time, the support she would need from her family after the surgery; how long she would have to stay in the hospital, away from her lab, unable to support the Rangers if needed. She looked at how long it would be before she could start just getting back into her regular routine, never mind back into action as the purple Ranger.

All those weeks, months, of not being able to help her family; to support her family the way they had always done for her. She couldn't do it. Not for a man who had done nothing for her.

"You're right," she told Koda. "He's not worth it."

Koda smiled, squeezed Kendall's shoulders gently, then left her to work in the lab, confident that now she wasn't going to change her mind. Meanwhile, he made his way to the cafe, and as he walked into the kitchen to grab his apron, he noticed the way Chase was looking to him hopefully. He gave the black Ranger a quick nod.

"Thank goodness," Chase breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. "I owe you, mate. Big time."

Chase saw Koda was eyeing the patty that he was working on for an order. He picked up the patty, placed it on a dressed bun and gave the burger to Koda. "You've earned it."

While Koda made his way out to the dining room to begin his shift, Chase noticed Tyler shaking his head from the prep station next to him. He turned around, frowning at the red Ranger.

"What?"

"Don't you think it's weird Ms. Morgan listens to Koda more than she listens to you?"

"She always has," Chase shrugged. "Why?"

"It doesn't make you jealous?"

"It used to," Chase answered honestly. "Until I figured out why."

"Why, then?"

"You know when you get lost in thought," Chase explained. "And you start to over think something."

"Yeah," Tyler nodded.

"Kendall's always over thinking. Koda never does. He cuts through her crap, especially when I don't know how."

Tyler chuckled and nodded. It was true that Kendall was always in her own head, imagining everything outcome for every decision that she made, while Koda was a lot more relaxed, taking life as it came. They were on very opposite ends of a spectrum and did need each other for balance.

"He deals with her drama for me," Chase said with a wink.

"You better not let her hear you say that," Tyler chuckled.


	3. The Gift of Giving

This was a rare time for Kendall. She was at home in her apartment. She wasn't thinking about work at the museum, nor was she caught up in any of her Ranger duties. She had left all of that behind and given herself the night off. It had been a long time and she thought she deserved it. It was one night away from the demands of the museum and away from the life or death responsibilities of the lab. She had given herself one night off from her friends, from her family, and even from Cammy.

Time off like this didn't come often for Kendall. Despite loving both her jobs, she often found herself overworked, and wondering when she would be able kick her feet up and enjoy silence.

She had ordered herself a pizza, concluding that she shouldn't have to do any cooking or cleaning on her night off. While she waited for the pizza to show up, she changed out of her work clothes and into something she could lounge around in. Knowing there was still a bit of time after that before the pizza showed up, she picked up a book. It had been a while since she had done any reading for pleasure.

Just before she could take a seat on the couch she heard a knock on her door. She put the book down and made her way over to answer it.

"They don't kid around with that thirty minute guarantee," she said to herself, but as she opened the door she saw it wasn't the pizza that had arrived. Instead, she found herself staring down her father – the one she never wanted to see again.

He didn't look well; leading her to assume that there was some truth behind his request for her kidney. She found it incredibly frustrating how he was always able to track her down when he needed her, yet he never showed up once for her. Just as she was going to slam the door in his face, he stuck his foot out.

"Did you get my letter?"

Kendall rolled her eyes and moved away from the door. She didn't want him to come inside, but figured there was no harm in letting him. He was sickly. She was a Ranger – the Purple Ranger. There was nothing he could do to hurt her.

"Kenny, please, I know I've done you wrong but... I need you to do this for me."

"I've needed a lot of stuff from you too, dad," Kendall told him. "What did you do for me?"

"So you're going to let me die?" Mr. Morgan frowned. "Your own father."

"You walked out!" Kendall growled, turning to face her father. She could feel her blood boiling, her face turning red and her muscles tensing up, "You don't get to walk out, leave me behind, and then take one of my damn kidneys! I shouldn't have even let you borrow money..."

"I paid it back and more!" Mr. Morgan argued."

"And then asked for it back and let your freaking debt collector have his way with me!"

"What?" Mr. Morgan asked and for the first time Kendall saw concern for her on his face. She groaned, realizing what he must have understood and corrected herself.

"He didn't, and that's not what I meant but... You know what, dad, it's not like you did anything to help me then anyways."

"What could I have done? Your mother was a bitch, Kendall. I couldn't stay there!"

"I'm not arguing with you over this," Kendall shook her head. "I know why you're here, the answer is no. You're not getting a kidney from me."

"I'm dying."

"Tough!" Kendall spat. "You don't deserve it."

Mr. Morgan glared angrily at his daughter, hoping she knew how lucky she was that this visit alone was exhausting for him. He didn't have it in him to fight back the way he wanted to – to make her do what he wanted to do.

That irritated him even more. He clenched his fists.

"You're just like your mother," he growled.

"That's better than being just like you. At least she stuck around."

Mr. Fisher glared at his daughter after hearing her response. He saw the way she wasn't backing down, how she seemed to have a smart-ass comment for everything he said. It infuriated him to no end that no matter how hard he seemed to push, she wasn't going to break.

He couldn't get to her. He was starting to realize that. So instead he had a look around her apartment. His eyes landed on the toy plesiosaur – the one he bought her for her birthday after he had left her. It was the only time he had made contact with her and his ex-wife after abandoning them. He was admittedly a little surprise to see Kendall still had that toy with her.

He walked to her shelf, picked it up and snapped the neck. He looked to Kendall, seeing the expression on her face hadn't changed.

"I'm your father!" he shouted, throwing the two pieces of the plesiosaur at her. "You ungrateful little bitch! You owe me this!"

Kendall didn't answer. She let the pieces of the plesiosaur fall at her feet while she continued to look at his father, a little fascinated by what he was going to do next.

"I'll die without this kidney!" he shouted at her as he picked up one of her books and tried to throw it across the room. It didn't go far, but Kendall knew the point he wanted to make. He was angry with her.

"You're just going to let your father die?" he asked her before taking a breath. Now he was really tired. Kendall could see he could barely hold himself up. She walked to her bedroom to gather up some of her clothes while her father followed her.

"At least I didn't leave you to die!" he said. "What you're doing is evil!"

Kendall put the extra clothes in a bag and then walked back out to her living room to pack up her laptop, her book and the two pieces of the plesiosaur. Her father followed her out.

"I'm glad I left you! You were a rotten child! You're a horrible person!"

Kendall grabbed her car keys and her purse and walked out of her apartment. Her father followed, but he was moving slowly now. She made it to the elevator just as he was walking through her door.

When the elevator doors opened, she saw her pizza had finally arrived. She reached into her purse, paid the delivery girl and let her go. While she took the elevator down, Kendall offered the box to her father, who was only catching up.

"Keep up your strength," she told him. "Maybe, someone more despicable than you will die and you can have his kidney."

"Kendall!" her father tossed the pizza aside and reached out to grab her arm but Kendall easily pulled away from him. The elevator came back up. She stepped in, her father followed her.

"Fine, maybe I wasn't the greatest dad," her father admitted on the ride. "But you're a scientist. You know that no matter what I've done, and no matter how much of a selfish bitch you are, we're still family. You _owe_ me a kidney. They are technically half mine, after all."

The elevator opened in the parking garage. Kendall stepped out, made her way to her car and got in. Her father trailed behind her, doing his best to keep up. She managed to get her car started and pull out of the parking garage before he could stop her.

-Dino-Charge-

"Have you brushed your teeth?" Mr. Fisher asked Cammy as she climbed into her bed. Cammy nodded her head. He leaned down. "Let me see."

Cammy opened her mouth, showing off her teeth while her father inspected them.

"Hmm, white, shiny, breathe out for me... yes, bubble-gum scented," he stood up straight and smiled. "Alright, little lady, everything looks good to me."

"I told you," Cammy said just before they heard someone pulling into the driveway. Cammy didn't make much of it. Her bedroom overlooked the front yard. Whenever the neighbours came home or people walked along the sidewalk beyond their yard, she could hear them. However, Mr. Fisher thought the noise sounded a little too close to his house to be one of the neighbours. His wife was in so he wanted to know who could have been stopping by so late into the evening.

"Bella!" he called out of the room to his wife while he peeked out the window. "I think we've got a visitor."

"We do?" Cammy asked. She jumped out of bed and raced to the window to see who it was. Immediately she recognized Kendall's car. "She's here!"

"She?" Mr. Fisher asked and watched his daughter race of excitedly to the hall. Cammy stopped at the railing that overlooked the front hall as Kendall walked into the house, greeted by their mother. Even from a distance, Cammy could see this wasn't a happy visit. Kendall looked upset.

"Honey?" Mrs. Fisher asked when she saw her daughter walk in, her cheeks stained with tears. Kendall set her bag down then held up the pieces of her plesiosaur toy.

Cammy gasped as soon as she saw the broken toy and raced into her bedroom. Mr. Fisher let her go while he made his way down the stairs.

"Some super glue and that'll be easy to fix," he assured Kendall. She shook her head.

"He showed up," she said.

"He... Your dad?" Mrs. Fisher asked. Kendall nodded.

"He wants a kidney."

"A what?" Mr. Fisher shouted. His wife and Kendall looked to him a little shocked. "I'm sorry, but... a kidney? One of yours?"

"I told him I wouldn't do it," Kendall stated. "I turned him down and he..."

"Good," Mrs. Fisher said and put her arms around her daughter. "That's good. Good for you, honey."

"Really?" Kendall asked. She knew it had to be the right decision. Chase told her so. Koda had been the one to convince her. Even her gut told her she was right to turn her father away. Still, the whole way over, she was left to wonder if letting her father die was really what a good person would do.

"Yes," Mrs. Fisher nodded as she looked to Kendall. "I mean it. You did the right thing."

Kendall smiled at her mother, then turned to her father to see if he agreed. He gave her a warm nod.

"Kendall!" Cammy called as she raced down the stairs with Plesio tucked under her arm. When she was standing in front of her sister, she held the toy out, "Here! You can have her."

Kendall knelt down and took the toy, "Plesio? Cammy, you love her."

"I love you more," Cammy smiled. Kendall kissed her sister's forehead then looked to her father. He took the broken plesiosaur toy and gestured to Kendall that he would fix it so she could quickly return Plesio to the little girl. Kendall gave a nod then looked to Cammy once again.

"Thanks," she said. "This means a lot, Cam."


End file.
